Season Overview: What Happened to the Dynamo in 2010? & Ching up for Top Award

Has the reality of no playoff soccer in Houston sunk in yet? I know most have known it since the mid-summer but it is still weird to be reading and talking about the MLS playoffs and not getting ready for a Houston Dynamo match.

This is what happens after what can only be considered a disappointing season. It is also a reality that many professional teams, and MLS clubs, have faced; much more often than the club and fans in Houston. Reflecting on the season two questions come to mind: (1) How did this happen, and (2) What can be done to keep it from repeating itself next season?

The second question is the most important question but that is going to take some time and deliberation on the staff’s part and will be a popular topic with the fans for the next four months. We can however take a look at the first question.

From a fan’s perspective it is tough to know everything that went on. We see things on the field but do not have access to every piece of information. We do not know how many players went through minor injuries. Nor do we know who was performing and earning minutes in practices. All we can talk about it what went wrong on the field.

In short, on the field the Dynamo were simply bad much more than they were good this year. While they had their peaks with stretches of good soccer they could not overcome the valleys that seemed to trip them up all year.

What happened to the defense?

The defense was the most notable change in the team this year. Gone were the days of a stingy group that made things easy and often carried the team when they went into offensive slumps. The club gave up a number of goals overall but were one of the worst in the league and shutting opponents out in the last 15 minutes of matches.

Writing this I think about two matches, the first match against the Union when second half sub and rookie Danny Mwanga got his season cranked up with a stoppage time goal to beat the Dynamo at home taking early points off the board. The other match was the club’s game in New York when Juan Pablo Angel took a great free kick and beat both the wall and Pat Onstad for a game winning goal. Yes they matches only cost the Dynamo two points but they seem to have set the tone for the tough year the Dynamo had in defense.

Did a lack of health do the Dynamo in?

One popular excuse you hear, not from the team, is that the Dynamo just could not overcome the injuries in a year where they had to replace two of the best players in MLS. The Dynamo had so many injuries it is tough to keep track. Certainly the first that stands out is Geoff Cameron’s knee injury. Cameron was counted on to fill the role of Stuart Holden, a central midfielder who is good on the ball and can pressure defenses. Losing Cameron for an extended period of time hurt not only the team but his transition to the attacking role. After feeling his way through his comeback we started to see how good he can be in that role.

Brian Ching time away from the team, either with injury or away on USMNT duty, hurt the offense as well. Ching is a player that a lot of USMNT love to hate because they do not see his production in the stat line. However, when you do not have Ching in the lineup you really start to see what you are missing. His absence left the Dynamo without a consistently effective hold up forward who can bring the ball down and distribute and use his head to score goals.

Did some personnel decisions finally catch up with the Dynamo?

It is tough to look back and judge trades harshly a year or two after the fact but there were couple of player decisions made that look bad for the Dynamo at the end of 2010. The most obvious is the trade of Chris Wondolowski for Cam Weaver. Now anyone who says that they knew this would happen is either pulling your leg or has the surname Wondolowski. I like Wondo while he was here and would have liked to have seen him stay but I never envisioned him being a Golden Boot winner/MVP candidate. But trades are evaluated with hindsight and that shows the Dynamo came out the worst on that deal.

Another move was the trading of Kei Kamara for Abe Thompson. I state this with the preface that I understand that this trade was as much about the locker room/salary cap as it was about on the field performance. However, Kamara had a very nice season for the Wizards this year and Thompson was not on the Dynamo roster. Like Wondolowski, Kamara has become a nice goal scorer in Kansas City and it makes me wonder what he would have done for the Dynamo in a year when they needed some more offensive punch to carry the defense.

The most popular personnel miss was obviously Luis Landin. Let’s be honest, Landin was not committed to the Dynamo. If he was he would have been in better shape and made a better effort. Whether he would have produced goals we will never know but the guy simply did not put his all into being a great soccer player in Houston. Landin would have been a bad signing despite his salary but the fact that he was brought in as the club’s first designated player made it even worse. Here is to hoping the next DP signing works out much better.

All in all, the Dynamo just never got rolling this year and these are just three issues why (in my book). The most telling fact for the 2010 season is that it took until matches 29 and 30 for the club to notch it’s first winning streak. That is a recipe for disaster in this league.

What do you think was the most important issue in regards to the Dynamo’s performance this season? Am I way off base here? Do you think it was simply a case of luck not going their way?

Brian Ching a Finalist for the MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Award

In a down year on the field one Dynamo player was nominated for one of MLS’ most prestigious post-season award. Dynamo forward Brian Ching was announced as a finalist for the MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year award for his work in the community. Ching’s major project was the House that Ching Built, a project in conjunction with Houston’s Habitat for Humanity. Ching helped raise $75,000 for the project and put in, along with his teammates, substantial elbow grease to get the project done by December for the family to move into the home. Congratulations to Brian for being nominated and I hope he wins the award, which will be announced November 8th.

While MLS got it right with the Humanitarian of the year award, how could they include Thierry Henry as a finalist for the Newcomer of the Year award? Wow, that is simply awful and hurts the creditability of the league. Henry is maybe the third best newcomer on his own team, behind Linpere and Marquez. Marquez has outshined him as a DP signing as well. Henry will likely be out the first match of the playoffs and is likely not going to be at full fitness at any point in the playoffs.

On another note, they did include Chris Wondolowski as an MVP candidate. Hopefully Wondo will be rewarded for putting his team on his back and getting them to the playoffs. Wondo is going against David Ferreria (FC Dallas) and Edson Buddle (L.A. Galaxy). If you are judging who is the most valuable player then I think Wondo has a great shot of being the winner.

Dynamo Academy U-18’s v. Tryout Finalist

Do not forget about the match between the Dynamo U-18 team and 15 tryout finalists at the Carl Lewis Complex at 7pm tonight. If you can make it out there you may get an early look at the next Dynamo homegrown signing.

2 Responses

According to Dom, we still made plenty of offensive chances, which is partially true, but we didnt finish them, which is completely true. The difference with years past is that the attacks were much more rushed and disjointed, so Ill go ahead and vote for the loss of Stu Holden as the chief reason we stank. Stu (and DeRo before him) was the type of player necessary to hold the ball for long spells. Dom likes to press his players high and in that system, the central midfielder is probably the most important player. Stu was and still is (just go ask bolton) masterful at breaking defensive pressure and adds a sense of patience to the team. Once you lose that calming effect in the midfield, possession is lost more and defenders are usually out of position to quickly win the ball back.

Going forward we have to address the middle of the field. Palmer, obodai, and mulrooney will never be sufficient to excel with this system. I dont like davis in the middle because he is better suited for the wings. Cameron may eventually gain the skills necessary to run the system; however, I dont really think of him as a possession player.

Either way we need better strikers, midfielders and defenders. Yikes….

I believe the defense dropped too many coverages this season. And, something changed in their spit and fire. I recall too many times when an opposing attacker got behind the back line and ran virtually unchallenged all the way to goal. No one seemed to get back in time. In fact, it seemed like BB and others were stunned and barely tracking to intercept. Cameron was a big success in that area last year, intercepting anyone that got behind the line while BB focused on the stopper role. Unless we get a faster set of outside backs and/or a speedy, fearless sweeper, we’re doomed. too many teams are faster and better at converting chances than we were this year. The defense should definitely get a couple of draft picks; the energy Cameron showed last season (and in the Ch game at home this season) is tied to younger legs.

Go Dynamo!

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I think a centerback next to Bobby Boswell will be a top priority for the Dynamo in the offseason. -Darrell-